were introduced such as physics, political economy, and French, and in 1912 these reforms were extended to the university's other branches in Kairouan, Sousse, Tozeur, and Gafsa. Until the 20th century the students were mostly recruited from Tunisia's wealth families but afterwards its recruitment broadened. Under French colonial rule it turned into a bastion of Arab and Islamic culture resisting French influence. Some prominent members of the Algerian nationalist movement studied here, such as 'Abd al-Hamid ibn Badis, Tawfiq Madani, and Houari Boumédiène. The traditional pedagogy of the university opposed French influence in Tunisian culture, even though younger people who studied there and who were unable to attend other universities lost the concept of the university having prestige. The students, faculty, and alumni became an integral part of the 1920s Destour party. Following Tunisia's Independence, the modern Zitouna University was established on April 26, 1956. Reforms to the education system in 1958 and the creation of the University of Tunis in 1960 reduced the Zitouna's importance. The university's library was also integrated into the National Libraries of Tunis. The Zitouna University was succeeded by the Zitouna Faculty of Shari’a and Theology on March 1, 1961 which became one of the components of University of Tunis. In 1964–1965 its status as an independent university was abolished by President Habib Bourguiba and it was relegated to being a theological college for the University of Tunis. For years afterward, under the rule of both Bourguiba and his successor Ben Ali, the educational institution was kept officially and physically distinct from the mosque itself. The Zitouna name was restored by Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 1987, after having been changed under Bourguiba. In 2012, after the Tunisian revolution and in response to a court petition by a group of Tunisian citizens, the mosque's former educational offices were reopened and it was declared as an independent educational institution once again. Academics The present-day institution has some 1200 students and 90 faculty, divided between two associated institutes — the Higher Institute of Theology and the Higher Institute of Islamic Civiliation in Tunis — and a research institution, the Center of Islamic Studies () in Kairouan. Lessons in the Higher Institute of Theology began in the academic year 1988/89. It awards Bachelor's degree in Shari'a and Islamic thought in Islamic Sciences Master in Islamic Sciences Ph.D. in Islamic Sciences Superior Technician in Applied Multimedia on Islamic